BALD EAGLE 65 



the finny prey struggling in its claws, and worries 

 the smaller bird until it drops the fish, whereupon the 

 Eagle, making a sudden downward dart, dexterously 

 catches it, and carries it off to his nest to be eaten at 

 leisure. In Florida one is treated to daily exhibitions 

 of these contests between Bald Eagles and Fish 

 Hawks. See Frontispiece. 



The nest is usually placed in the top of some tall 

 pine or other tree, in an exposed position, and consists 

 of a mass of twigs and sticks roughly interwoven. 

 It is occupied by the same pair of birds for a number 

 of years; indeed, it is thought that Eagles mate but 

 once, a pair continuing to live together until the death 

 of one or the other of the birds. In Florida these 

 birds are seen wheeling and screaming overhead at 

 almost any time of the day. Strange as it may seem, 

 the immature bird is at one period larger than the 

 adult of either sex, being more loosely jointed and 

 bulkier, and becoming more compact in form as it 

 reaches maturity. 



Audubon, in his "North American Birds," has given 

 a thrilling account of the pursuit and capture of a 

 Swan by a pair of Bald Eagles. When living prey 

 is not available, this bird does not disdain carrion, and 

 may often be seen, like the Sea Eagle of Europe, pick- 

 ing up the remains of dead fish and other offal cast 

 up by the waves. 



Probably the largest of the Eagles in actual meas- 

 urement, although not in weight, is the great Kam- 

 chatka Sea Eagle, certainly one of the finest repre- 

 sentatives of the genus. This great bird lives, as its 

 name implies, along the shores of Siberia, and also in 



